


A child's mission

by lozzielou



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: A sweet little girl is trapped in a nightmarish place, Allison and Tom will protect Melanie with their lives, Attempted sacrifice of a child, Bendy wants to use Melanie as bait, Child in Peril, Evil Bendy (Bendy and the Ink Machine), Gen, Good versus Evil, Ink Demon, Kidnapping, Little Girl - Freeform, Melanie is a sweet little thing, Melanie is determined to find Henry, Ten year old girl, Will Bendy succeed in capturing Melanie?, innocent child, will Henry and Melanie be reunited?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2020-05-16 12:48:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19318507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lozzielou/pseuds/lozzielou
Summary: While Henry is stuck in a never-ending loop, Joey is keeping his Ten-year-old daughter Melanie with him, but when the little girl discovers the whereabouts of her father, she ventures into Joey Drew Studios to find him but The Ink Demon plans to use her as bait to lure Henry. Will little Melanie find her daddy or will she end up captured by The Ink Demon? read to find out.





	1. Chapter 1

"Tell me another one Uncle Joey" little, Ten-year-old Melanie Stein begged her Uncle Joey Drew after he finished telling her one of his many stories which he had been telling her ever since she came to stay with him.

"Not right now little one, I think it's time you went to bed," Joey told the child firmly "and besides, I've got some important business to attend to."

"Please, just one more" the little girl begged, "I promise I'll go to bed after." Again, Joey firmly told her no and she eventually gave in, but just as she was about to head for bed, she had something else to ask Uncle Joey.

"When is my daddy coming back?" it had been weeks since she and her father, Henry Stein had come to Joey's apartment ever since he received a letter which stated something about him visiting the old workshop and whilst there, Joey had asked Melanie to wait in the other room whilst he and Henry had a little talk but when she was allowed to come out, the child noticed that Henry was no longer there and after asking where he was, Joey simply told her that he had to go somewhere and that he wanted her to stay with him until he got back, but many weeks had passed and Henry hadn't returned.

"He'll come back soon" Joey replied as he made the little girl a hot chocolate which had been spiked with sleeping pills, this was something he did when Henry was nearly done with another loop, he would come back to Joey's flat and from there, the loop would start all over and he made sure that Melanie wouldn't see or hear him every time he returned from another loop and he did this by giving her a hot chocolate spiked with sleeping pills and she would be out until after Henry went back into the workshop to begin another loop.

"How soon?" Melanie questioned, "he's been gone a long time, how much longer will he be gone?"

"That's enough questions now," Joey told her as he handed her the drinking chocolate " now, drink up and off to bed." Reluctantly, the child did as she was told and as soon as the sleeping pills began to take effect, he carried her to her room and laid her on the bed before leaving the room, knowing she would be out until mid-morning. However, Melanie had come round much earlier than usual and the first thing she heard was the sound of her father's voice.

"Where's Melanie Joey?" Henry asked as she climbed out of bed and opened her door by a crack, peering through to see Henry and Joey having a conversation in the Kitchen and the little girl was urging to run out of her room and into his arms but she found herself unable to move, she still felt a little woozy from the sleeping pills so all she could do was listen.

"She's sleeping right now" Joey replied, "but don't worry, you'll get to see her soon."

"You keep saying this every time I finish another god damn loop but I haven't seen her since you sent me through that door and into the studio" Henry replied "and when is it going to end, when are these loops going to end?" so that's why she hadn't seen Henry for weeks, he had been stuck in some never-ending loop ever since he went back to the studio and from that moment, little Melanie decided she was going to enter the studio to reunite with him, now all she had to do was keep watching to see where Henry entered and after his slight argument with Joey who simply dismissed his pleas of wanting to see his daughter and sent him back into the studio, the child watched as he walked through the door near the kitchen counter and she knew that was the entrance, she knew that was her way in.

After Henry left, Melanie went back to bed for another hour or so before entering the kitchen to the sound of Joey whistling a tune, a tune he would always whistle quite often.

"Good morning little one" he greeted as Melanie perched herself on one of the stools at the kitchen counter "did you sleep well?"

"Yes thank you uncle Joey" she replied before glancing over at the door that Henry had walked through which didn't go unnoticed by Joey and he asked her why she was looking over there "oh, I was just checking the time" there was also a clock on the wall near the door so she used that excuse so he wouldn't get suspicious.

"very well, now, how about some breakfast?" the little girl nodded and Joey got started on the breakfast "how about some French Toast?"

"Yes please uncle Joey" Melanie replied softly "has my daddy been back yet?"

"Sorry Honey, he hasn't" Joey replied as he placed a fresh glass of Orange Juice on the counter for Melanie and a cup of Coffee for himself along with it "now, once you finished your breakfast, I want you to get dressed okay." Melanie nodded as Joey went to finish the breakfast and she kept glancing over at the door that she saw Henry enter through, planning on how she was going to go through it without Uncle Joey seeing.

"Now, I want you to eat up and change out of your Nightdress" Joey told her as he placed her French toast in front of her along with his own and she nodded obediently.

"Do you have anymore stories to tell me today?" she asked, a mouthful of French toast "also, do you think my daddy will be coming back today?"

"I'm afraid I don't have any ideas for any stories right now and I have no idea if your daddy is gonna come back today" Joey replied before giving Melanie a stern look "and also, don't talk with your mouth full, eat up and then you can change out of your nightdress." Melanie nodded and finished off her toast and orange juice before hopping down from the stool and into her room where she changed out of her nightdress and into a white blouse, a blue pinafore, dark grey tights and black Mary Jane shoes and she put her hair up in pigtails. After she was dressed, she waited until Joey was distracted so she could go through that door she saw Henry go through and find out where he had gone and why he hadn't yet come back.

"What are we going to do today uncle Joey?" the little girl asked as she walked out of her room, she wanted to make sure if Joey was going to be too distracted or not to notice or catch her going through that door.

"Well I have a lot of paper work to get through and that may take me a few hours and I don't want any distractions ok?" the child nodded, knowing that this could be her perfect opportunity to see what was through that door.

"Yes Uncle Joey, I'll just be in my room playing quietly" she replied, hands behind her back and rocking back and forth on her heels "I won't disturb you."

"That's a good little girl" Joey replied, patting her on the head "now run along and let Uncle Joey get on with his work." Little Melanie nodded before turning around and walking out of the room, but instead of heading towards her bedroom, the little girl headed straight to the door that her father had entered through and after taking one last glance at Joey, making sure he wasn't watching her, she turned the handle, opened the door and stepped through.

The first thing she was greeted with when she walked through that door as what appeared to be an old workshop with posters of the old cartoons Henry and Uncle Joey used to work on plastered on the walls which included Bendy the Dancing Demon, Little Devil Darling and Boris the wolf in sheep songs.

"So, this is where my daddy is" the child said to herself "now, all I have to do is find out where he is. I'm coming to find you daddy."

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the studio, a tall, Inky figure stalked through the halls, casting an Inky aura around it which destroyed any other Ink creature foolish enough to dare stand in it's way. The Ink Demon stalked through the halls, looking for the intruder that dared enter his domain when he suddenly sensed another presence in the studio, another human in fact and he stopped in his tracks and began to use the posters and his cut outs to try and find this new intruder. When he eventually found them, he discovered found what appeared to be a little girl, no older than Nine, maybe Ten years old at the most and the Ink Demon watched as the child took in her new surroundings before speaking.

"So, this is were my daddy is, now all I have to do is find out where he is. I'm coming to find you daddy." The Ink Demon's grin stretched even further, this child must have been the daughter of Henry and he decided he was going to hunt down this child and then maybe, he could use the little one to lure Henry into his clutches once and for all. The Ink Demon now decided to stop pursuing Henry for now and instead focused on capturing sweet little, Ten-year-old Melanie Stein and use her as bait.


	2. Encountering the Ink Demon

The smell of old wood mixed with Ink hit Melanie's nose as soon as she entered the studio and the atmosphere of the place gave her an uneasy feeling but she knew she had to find out just where Henry was and hopefully be reunited with him.

"My daddy must be around here somewhere, I got to find him" she mumbled to herself "and I'm not leaving until I do." Just as she was about to walk on further, the room suddenly became dark as Ink like webs covered the walls and a tall, Ink like figure emerged from the wall a few feet away from her and Melanie noticed that whatever this creature was, it stood at around Eight feet tall and it bore a striking resemblance to the cartoon character her father and Uncle Joey created all those years ago...Bendy and it didn't take long for them to notice the scared little girl.

"Well, what have we got here?" the Ink Demon spoke before limping towards Melanie who gasped and backed herself up against the wall as he drew closer "a child so it seems." The child whimpered as he stood right in front of her, towering over her small, Ten-year-old form before crouching down to her level, his Ink covered, grinning face just inches away from her own.

"Hello little girl, do you know who I am?" he asked and Melanie nodded silently "what a clever child you are, and tell me little one, what brings you here into my domain?"

"I..I'm looking for someone" Melanie stammered, finally summoning up the courage to speak and Bendy hummed in response "I..I'm looking for my daddy, do you know where he is?" she wasn't looking at him directly, she was too scared to and she heard the Ink Demon let out a slight chuckle before grabbing her chin and forcing the little girl to look at him directly.

"You know, a little girl as young as yourself shouldn't be wandering around all alone" he implied "can't be no older than Nine, maybe Ten years old am I right. Also, I have seen your daddy around here, maybe we both can find him together, after all, can't have a sweet little thing like yourself can we?" his grin stretched even wider and he made a grab for the child but with a small squeal, little Melanie managed to evade his grasp thanks to her small stature and bolted down the hallway, and it didn't take long for Bendy to start pursuing her.

"You can't escape me little girl" she heard him call out as she ran and ran. not caring where she was going "anyone who enters my domain never escapes my grasp, and once I get both you and Henry in my clutches, you will both never escape." As she ran, Melanie came across a room that had a few drawing desks inside, so she quickly dashed inside and hid under one of the desks, pulling her knees up to her chin and hugging them just as the room became covered with those Inky web trails as the Ink Demon sauntered into the room and the little girl covered her mouth to silence her scared breathing.

"I know you are in here somewhere little one" he sneered as he stalked around the room "you don't have to be scared, I only want to use you to lure Henry into my clutches, after all, I'm sure he'll come running once he finds out his precious little child is in danger." Melanie's eyes widened in horror, he was going to use her to capture Henry "I'd come out if I was you, either that or I'll drag you out from where ever you're hiding." The little girl bit her lip and slowly crawled out when he wasn't looking and quickly made another run for it.

Many thoughts where running through little Melanie's head as she continued to run for her life, maybe she shouldn't have come to this place, she had come here to look for her daddy and now she was being pursued by a twisted form of the lovable cartoon character created by her daddy and uncle Joey. It didn't take long for Bendy to see the girl making a run for it down the hallway and he once again gave chase whilst continuing to taunt her.

"There's no point in running child" he called out "I'll catch you eventually, just surrender and you won't get hurt. after all, I do need you alive to lure your daddy into my clutches." The little girl ran and ran until she came to a dead end and knowing she had no other option, she turned to run in the opposite direction, only to be greeted by the Ink Demon and knowing that the child was now trapped, his grin stretched even further.

"Looks like you have nowhere to run now little one" he chuckled before making his way towards the scared little girl who slowly backed away "now, if you come with me peacefully and not give me any trouble, you will come to no harm, but if you refuse, then I'll just take you by force." Melanie shook her head, there was no way she was going to let this Demon use her to capture Henry, not if he had sinister intentions planned.

"Oh, so that's how it is, very well, if you won't come willingly, I'll just have to take you by force." The Ink Demon then proceeded to make a grab for Melanie but she backed away out of his reach, but just as she did, the floor began to creak from under her feet and then she suddenly found herself falling down some kind of shaft as the floor gave out from underneath her and Bendy hissed in frustration at the fact his bait had managed to escape his grasp, but he wasn't going to let her get away that easily, he just had to seek her out and once he found her, he was going to take the child and make sure she doesn't escape him again.

After Melanie fell through the floor, she had hit her head on the floor when she landed and it had knocked her unconscious. As she lay on the floor, out cold, she was discovered by someone who had been lurking around on the ground floor and they had been going around, placing Bendy cutouts around in this area when they heard the sound of someone falling through the floor and when they went to investigate, that was when they found the Ten-year-old girl, laying unconscious on the floor.

"Well, well, looks like a lost little lamb has fallen into my sanctuary" they stated, making their way over to the injured little girl "I wonder what a child is doing in a place like this, oh well, looks like I found a new sacrifice that will appease my lord." The person who had discovered Melanie looked like his whole body was made of Ink and he wore dirty white trousers held up by suspenders and he also wore a beat up Bendy mask that had a hole where his mouth should have been.

"Come along now little lamb" he said in a sinister tone as he lifted Melanie from the ground and throwing the little girl over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes "the time of sacrifice is upon us."


	3. The summoning

The Ink covered humanoid creature, who was once the music director for Joey Drew studios, Sammy Lawrence carried an unconscious Melanie Stein further into the music department. He had found the Little girl lying motionless on the floor after she fell through the floorboards on the upper levels which resulted in her hitting her head on impact which had rendered her unconscious and helpless, making it easy for the now, seemingly crazed musician to snatch her.

"This little lamb will be the perfect sacrifice for my lord" he stated as he reached an empty room with a gate and a pentagram painted in the middle of the floor which he lay Melanie in the middle of and proceeding to tie her wrists and ankles together. Once he had finished, he crouched down to get a better look at the child.

"My, you're such a young little lamb" he cooed, putting his inky fingers under her chin "you are just a little child, it almost makes what I have planned for you seem cruel, but the ritual must be completed sooner or later, but I think we should wait until you regain consciousness, I want you to be awake for this." He then let the little girl's head fall and stood up before walking out the room, leaving her alone, injured and helpless.

A few hours had passed by when Melanie finally began to come round, she had the worst headache of her life and she could feel herself lying on the wooden flooring. Groaning, the child tried to sit up but immediately regretted it as she felt the blood rushing to her head and laid back down, that was when she heard a creepy yet soothing sounding voice.

"So, finally awoken my little lamb?" her vision was blurry but she could just make out a dark figure wearing an old, battered Bendy mask approach her before crouching down "I wouldn't try and sit up just yet, you took quite a nasty fall, you're lucky I found you, who knows who or what could have found you if I hadn't come along, well, seeing as you are now awake, we begin."

"B..begin what?" Melanie asked, her voice sounding cracked "what's going on?" Sammy Lawrence chuckled darkly and grabbed hold of her chin, forcing the child to look at him and the little girl let out a choked sobbed, she was scared and didn't know what was happening.

"Oh, don't cry little lamb" he cooed, roughly wiping her tear-stained cheeks "this will soon be over, once my lord accepts you as my offering, I will be freed from this dark, Inky abyss of a body." Melanie pulled away from in, squeaking in fear and still confused as to what was happening, who was this person and why was he planning on using her as offering and it didn't take long for her to realize who he was talking about.

"No, not him, no, no" she begged but her captor only chuckled as she attempted to sit up only to find she didn't have the energy, the little girl still felt woozy from hitting her head.

"Hmmm, I'm guessing you have already met my lord" Sammy chuckled "well, I'm sure he'll be pleased to find out that I have an offering for him." Melanie let out a choked sob and begged him not to hand her over to the Ink Demon.

"H..he wants to use me as bait to get to my daddy, he..."

"You're daddy?" Sammy cut her off "wait a minute, are you" he knelt down and gently grabbed her chin and moved her head side to side, like he was examining it "you're the child of the other sheep I tried to sacrifice to my lord, yes I see it now, I can see the resemblance. Is that why you wandered into this place, to find your daddy, little lamb?"

"Y..yes" Melanie replied with a hiccuped sob "please, let me go, I just want to find my daddy and go home."

"I'm sorry but that' not an option my little lamb, the summoning must commence and besides, if my lord does plan to use you as bait then at least you'll get to see your daddy again, even if it may be for only a short time, no one who's ever had encounter with the Ink Demon has lived to tell the tale" he explained "now, let us begin my little lamb, the time of summoning is almost upon us." Melanie tried to sit up again but once again felt a wave of dizziness so all she could do was lie helplessly in the middle of the pentagram and watch as her captor walked into another room before his voice could be heard over what sounded like a speaker system.

"Sheep sheep sheep, it's time for sleep, rest your head, it's time for bed, in the morning you may wake or in the morning, you'll be dead" Melanie whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut as the room began to shake "hear me Ink Demon, arise from the darkness and take this innocent little lamb, I offer this innocent child, come and claim my offering, free me from this Inky prison." Before long, the room became coated in Ink which was soon accompanied by a familiar, breathing like growl and the sound of heavy footsteps approaching the terrified little girl and before long, she heard a sinister chuckle, followed by an all too familiar voice.

"Well, look what we have here" the Ink Demon mused, looking at the child who lay in the middle of the pentagram, trembling and helpless "looks like my prophet has proven to be some use after all." The little girl tried to crawl away but Bendy grabbed hold of her, lifted her from the ground and slung the child over his shoulder with her wrists and ankles still tied together.

"My lord, what about me?" Sammy spoke over the speaker system "you said you'd set me free if I gave you an offering, I gave you this little girl as an offering, so please, set me free." The Ink Demon chuckled and walked into the room with Melanie still slung over his shoulder and once he entered, Sammy began to bow dramatically.

"Thank you, my lord, I knew you would show up to set me free" he stated as an evil grin crept over the Demon's features before he let out a chuckle "what do you find so amusing my lord?"

"Oh I'll set you free alright, but not in the way you are expecting" Bendy replied before turning his head towards Melanie who was quietly sobbing, "I think you better shut your eyes little one, this isn't going to pleasant." With a frightened squeak, the little girl obeyed and despite Sammy's pleas, the Ink Demon turned him into an Inky puddle, leaving the worn old Bendy mask lying on the floor beside it.

"Well, my work here is done, besides, he was getting annoying" he implied "but anyway, daughter of Henry Stein, it's time to go." Adjusting his grip on Melanie, the child caught a glimpse of what remained of Sammy Lawrence.

"You killed him" she said, her voice shaking, only for Bendy to scoff in response and point out that he showed no mercy to anyone, even if they did worship him.

"The only reason I'm sparing you right now is that I need you to lure your Daddy into my clutches" he explained "he's escaped me many times before, but now, once he realizes I have his little girl in my clutches, and once I have him in my clutches, neither of you will be leaving this studio again." Bendy walked over to a wall and summoned an Ink portal as Melanie once again began to feel dizzy and nauseous from hitting her head and was finding it difficult to stay conscious.

"Ok, little Melanie stein, let's go to your new home." That was the last thing she heard before her world fell into total darkness as the little girl finally succumbed to unconsciousness.


	4. Captivity of a sick and Injured child

After disposing of Sammy Lawrence and succeeding in capturing little Ten-year-old Melanie stein, Bendy headed back to his lair with the unconscious and tied up child slung over his shoulder. The little girl had passed out from her head injury which she had sustained when falling through the floor and this made it easier for the Ink Demon to bring the child to his lair without her kicking and screaming and trying to getaway.

"Now that I have Henry's child, it's only a matter of time before he comes for her once he finds out that she's here and that I have her in my clutches" he mused to himself as he approached his lair which was deep underneath the studio and adjusting his grip on Melanie, he entered and took the girl into what appeared to be a throne room with multiple television screens that played the old Bendy cartoons.

"Well, we finally arrived at my lair little one," he said to the still unconscious child before laying her down on the ground and kneeling beside her to get a better look at the child and from what he could tell, she was really young and so small, she wouldn't stand a chance in a place like this on her own and he hoped that she would be grateful that he was letting her live for the time being, after all, he needed her to get to Henry, he had plans for him and he had vowed to carry out those plans once he had the man in his clutches and now that his daughter was also here, he could use those plans he had for Henry on her also, then he could keep them both here.

"Now, no harm is going to come to you, as long as you do what I say and don't give me any trouble" he stated as he untied her, knowing that she would possibly be unconscious for a good while and won't make any attempts to escape, even when she eventually wakes up, she'd probably wouldn't have the energy, after all, she barely put up a fight when he captured her "got to keep you alive so I can use you to get to your daddy." After a few minutes, he stood up and went to sit on his throne, waiting for the girl to wake up.

An hour or so had passed by and Melanie still had not woken up, well not fully, there were a few times she stirred and opened her eyes a tiny bit before falling back into an unconscious state and Bendy had spent this whole time watching, waiting for her to come round fully so he could explain why she was here and what exactly he had planned for her and Henry.

"I could try waking up, but she may have not fully recovered yet," he thought to himself "and I need her alive, for now." Another hour went by and the child still had not regained consciousness and Bendy wondered if she perhaps to exhausted to be waking up, maybe he should try waking her up, yes, that was a good idea, she had been sleeping long enough to the point where Bendy was beginning to get impatient, he was eager to tell the child his plans for her and Henry, he couldn't wait any moment longer for her to wake up on her own.

Getting up from his throne, the Ink Demon made his way over to the child, and just as he was about to wake her up, he suddenly began to sense someone smashing up his cutouts. "HENRY" he yelled, causing Melanie to stir a little "I KNOW YOU'RE BREAKING MY CUTOUTS, NOW YOU'RE GOING TO PAY." With a frustrated growl, he turned to the girl who was now beginning to slowly come round "I'll be back little one, I just need to go deal with your daddy." He then stood up and teleported out of the lair via an Ink portal, just as Melanie slowly began to regain consciousness.

It took at least twenty minutes or so for the little girl to fully come round and with a small groan, she slowly opened her eyes and pulled herself up into a sitting position to find herself in a circular room with TV screens and some kind throne sitting in the middle. The last thing she remembered was the Ink Demon carrying her off somewhere before she passed out and figured where she was now had to be his lair and she knew that she had to get out of this place as soon as possible.

As Melanie took in her surroundings, she looked around to see if there was any sign of her captor, but it appeared that she was alone and this gave her the perfect opportunity to make her escape. The little girl stood up and a wave of nausea swept over her, causing her to fall to the ground, she had not yet fully recovered from her head injury, but she knew that she had to escape before the Ink Demon came back, and he could show up at any time. Despite her feeling of dizziness and nausea, little Melanie pulled herself up from the floor and made her way to the huge doorway sitting across from the throne. "Now, how do I get out of here?" she questioned, looking for something to open the door with, but it appeared to be bolted shut, there was no handle, buttons or anything that could open them. After a few minutes of almost giving up, the doors began to open and without hesitation, the little girl bolted out of the throne room, straight past the Ink Demon just as he was about to enter.

"MELANIE STEIN" he roared before giving chase, "DON'T THINK YOU CAN ESCAPE ME!." However, little Melanie ignored his yells and continued to run to the entrance of the machine and found herself at a small staircase, overlooking a large, black lake of Ink. "Heh heh, nowhere to run now little Melanie Stein." Scared, the little girl turned around to see him slowly making his way towards her, he knew that she was trapped and he could easily snatch her up and take her back into his lair "you're a very naughty little girl, trying to get away, you shouldn't be running around with that head injury of yours. Why don't you be a good little girl and come back to my lair, I promise you won't get hurt as long as you cooperate and besides, it's too dangerous out there for a little thing like yourself."

Biting her bottom lip, Melanie looked at Bendy then at the Ink lake and after making her final decision, the child turned and jumped into the lake before wading across. However, the Ink Demon was going to give up so easily and proceeded to pursue her. "You're not going to get away from me that easily Melanie" he taunted but the little girl kept on moving and when she finally made it to shore, she broke into a run with Bendy hot on her tail.

"Please, leave me alone" she cried as she continued to run, but the Ink Demon showed no signs of giving up so easily, he was determined to recapture the child and take her back into his lair. "You will NOT escape me, Melanie Stein" he growled, "you and your father will never leave this place, I'll make sure of that." After she continued to run and run some more, Melanie felt another wave of dizziness and stumbled to the floor before she started to throw up. It seemed all this running had made her current condition slightly worse than it was before. Luckily, she had managed to outrun the Ink Demon, but she could still hear him looking for her and she knew full well that she now was in no condition to try and escape again if he found her. After she finished throwing up, she began to shiver and curled up in a ball, knowing that Bendy would eventually find her, she could still hear him looking for her after he lost track of her and she knew that hse was no state to getaway.

She had been laying on the ground for a good ten, maybe fifteen minutes or so before she heard someone approaching her from behind and she could hear someone speaking but her head was too fuzzy to comprehend exactly what it was they were saying. The little girl let out a small whimper and weakly muttered "daddy" before she felt someone brushing their hands through her hair and speaking in what sounded like comforting words, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. After a few more minutes, she felt herself being lifted up from the floor and finding it hard to stay awake, the little girl closed her eyes and fell into a much-needed slumber.


	5. Bad memories

Allison Angel sighed as she looked over at the little girl lying curled up on one of the cots in the corner of their hideout whilst her friend and partner, Tom seemed to look at her with an annoyed expression.

"What was I supposed to do Tom?" Allison whispered, careful not to wake the child who seemed to be in a deep, but restless slumber "I couldn't just leave her out there, not in her current condition and you saw how sick she looked, not to mention that bruise on her head, and what if the Ink Demon found her, goodness knows what might have happened." She was interrupted by a small moan and she looked over to see the little girl shivering.

"Sshhh, it's okay sweetie," Allison said in a reassuring tone as she wrapped the blanket tighter around her and stroked her hair in an almost, motherly manner as Tom came over, still unsure of what to make of this child "I know you're probably confused as to who she is and where she came from, I am too but we can't leave her on her own, I mean, look at her, she can't be any older than ten years old at the most, we need to keep her safe." Tom still seemed a little hesitant but he eventually agreed into the child staying with them, at least until she recovered.

After a few hours went by, the little girl slowly began to wake up and Allison immediately went over to the cot she was laying on and crouched down beside it as the child slowly turned her head and looked at the cartoon angel-like woman with half-open eyes.

"Hey there sleepy head, how are you feeling?" she asked the little girl who's eyes were now fully open.

"Thirsty" the child replied, her voice sounding a little cracked "w..where am I?" her eyes were now fully open and she began looking around the room, observing her surroundings.

"Oh, you're in our hideout, mine and Tom's" Allison explained "we found you laying on the floor just outside and you seemed to be in a pretty bad way, also there's a pretty nasty bruise on your head, I'm guessing that's what made you sick, how is your head by the way?"

"Still hurts a little" the young girl replied and Allison took out an ice pack and placed it over injury.

"This should help the bump to go down" Allison stated "how on earth did you end up with this nasty bump anyway?" Without hesitation, the child explained everything that had happened and after she finished, Allison was more than shocked.

"I'm amazed you managed to escape the Ink Demon in your current condition, you were in a pretty bad way when me and Tom found you, and we couldn't just leave you" Allison explained as the little girl gave her a small smile "anyway, you never did tell me your name."

"Melanie stein" the child replied.

"That's a really pretty name, and tell me Melanie, why did you come here, this place isn't exactly safe, especially for children" Allison exclaimed "I think you should leave this awful place once you've recovered because the longer you stay here, the more danger you'll be in."

"No" Melanie said abruptly "I'm not leaving without my daddy" Allison looked at the child with confusion "my daddy's in this place somewhere and I came to find him, I'm not leaving until I do, I need to find my daddy." Allison could see that the little girl was determined to find her father, but she knew that this place was dangerous, especially to a child as young as Melanie and she needed to keep her safe.

"You're pretty determined to find him aren't you?" she asked and little Melanie nodded "well, if that's what you want, we'll help you find him, me and Tom will help you, but you must promise to stay with us at all times and not go wondering off alone, we don't want you getting taken again by the Ink Demon."

"H..he was going to use me as bait to get my daddy" Melanie explained "that's why he took me before." Allison nodded, knowing that the Ink Demon would possibly be after the child if he wanted to use her as bait to capture her father and that made her want to protect the little girl even more.

"Well don't you worry sweetie, we'll keep you safe. we won't let him take you again" Allison reassured as the little girl threw her arms around her "hey, it's okay. You're safe now and we won't let anything happen to you." Allison held the little girl in her arms until she started to drift off to sleep and once she was fully asleep, she laid her down on the cot just as Tom came back, slamming the door behind him which caused Allison to give her an annoyed look.

"Can you not, she just went back to sleep and she's still not one hundred percent recovered" Tom looked at Allison with confusion "she woke up while you were out patrolling and told me everything that happened before we found her, about Bendy wanting to use her as bait to capture her father." Tom walked over to the cot that Allison was sitting on and looked at the child before looking back at Allison and then towards the door of their hideout.

"What is it?" Allison asked her companion.

"He's out there" Tom replied in a gruff voice " the Ink Demon, I saw him patrolling the halls" he looked over at Melanie who was still fast asleep " he's looking for her and it seems like, he doesn't plan on giving up until he does."

"And that's why we can't leave her Tom, I know you're not too great with humans, but we can't leave Melanie on her own, not at the mercy of him" the little girl groaned in her sleep and Allison rubbed her back in a comforting manner "I promised that we wouldn't abandon her and I'm not going to break that promise, we are going to keep her safe Tom and we are going to help her find her dad."

Later that night, Melanie tossed and turned as she had a flashback of the day she and Henry first came to Joey Drew's house on the day he was sent to the studio and disappeared for weeks on end.

FLASHBACK

The little girl looked out of the car window as they pulled up to Joey's apartment, she hadn't seen her uncle Joey since she was around 4 or 5 years old and she was pretty excited to see him.

"Okay kiddo, we're here" Henry said as he turned off the car engine and undid his seat belt whilst Melanie undid hers "it'll be nice to see your uncle joey again after not seeing him for so long." The two then got out of the car and walked up to the buzzer on the front door and Melanie asked if she could press the button for Joey's apartment.

"Go ahead" Henry replied, and with the buzzer being a little to high for to reach, the little girl stood on her tip toes and pressed the buzzer for Joey's apartment.

"Who is it?" the gruff voice of Joey Drew said over the intercom.

"It's Henry and Melanie, I got your letter this morning asking us to come over" Henry replied into the speaker

"Oh yes, My old friend Henry and my sweet little Melanie, come on up." The front door then buzzed and Henry took Melanie's hand before pushing the door open before the two of them made their way to Joey's apartment and once they entered, they found him in the kitchen, cleaning the dishes.

"So soon eh Henry, I wasn't expecting you for another hour yet" Joey replied as he turned around to face the pair of them "you'll have to excuse the mess, I didn't get any time to clean up."

"Don't worry about it and besides, this one couldn't wait to come and see you" Henry chuckled as he patted his Daughter on the head "she was up and ready to go at six am." Joey grinned as he made his way over to Melanie before crouching down to her level and placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Well, I have to say that you've grown since the last time I saw you, you must be what, Ten years old now, am I right?" he asked and the little girl nodded, followed by a shy giggle "well, you're uncle Joey is so glad that you came to visit."

"Me too uncle Joey" the little girl replied innocently before perching herself on one of the kitchen stools as Henry asked Joey why he had asked him to come over and with a small smirk, Joey turned to Melanie and asked her to go in the other room why he spoke to her daddy in private.

"Do I have to?" she complained with a small frown.

"Do what your uncle Joey says Honey" Henry told her "I'll come get you once we're done." The little girl nodded reluctantly and hopped down from the stool before heading into the other room and closing the door behind her. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, Melanie looked up from what she was doing as the door to the room finally opened and she was expecting for Henry to come walking in, but instead, it was Uncle Joey.

"Where's Daddy?" she asked as Joey made his way over to her and knelt down so that he was at eye level with her "where is he?"

"He's not here right now, he had to go somewhere and he asked me to watch you" Joey replied "but, he'll be back."

"When?" the little girl asked, she was beginning to feel that something fishy was going on, if he had left to go somewhere, he would usually come say goodbye and give her a kiss on the forehead "when is he coming back, and why didn't he tell me himself?"

"Well he sort of had to rush out and he didn't really have time" Joey replied "but don't worry, he said he'll be back in a couple of hours." The little girl nodded but she still felt suspicious of all this, why did Henry have to leave all of sudden without telling her, something just didn't feel right.

A few days had passed by and there was still no sign of Henry and Joey told Melanie that he now wouldn't be back for a week or so and that he had asked him to keep Melanie with him at his apartment. After they had come back from Henry's place to pick up some clothes and toys for Melanie to bring with her whilst she was staying at Joey's, he made her a hot chocolate spiked with sleeping pills as unbeknownst to little Melanie, Joey had sent Henry back to the old studio he worked at, but had trapped him in a continuous loop and he knew that the studio would be too dangerous for a little girl as young as Melanie so he decided to keep her here with him at his apartment and decided to drug her when he knew that Henry would be nearing the end of the loop and would returning to his apartment before he sent him on another loop.

"This is the perfect revenge for him leaving to spend time with his pregnant wife and then having to raise that brat after his precious wife died" he muttered bitterly, remembering how Henry had to resign temporarily to go and take care of his wife Linda who was pregnant with Melanie at the time, only for her to die shortly after Melanie was born due to complications from the birth, meaning Henry had to permanently leave the studio to raise his Daughter and he did not like that one bit. So he decided to wait for the right time to take the perfect revenge and right now was the perfect time, he would keep Henry trapped in the loop until his life would end and keep Melanie here with him for the rest of her life, he vowed that Henry will never ever see his little girl again.

END FLASHBACK

Melanie awoke with a gasp and covered in cold sweat, her flashback had all made sense now as to why Uncle Joey kept Henry trapped in the never ending loop. The little girl quickly brushed the tears away from her eyes when she felt a hand on her Shoulder, causing her to flinch and turn around, only to find Allison standing behind her.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to scare you" she replied before noticing that Melanie's cheeks where stained with tears "hey, what's the matter, did you have a bad dream?"

"More of a memory" the child replied as she dried her cheeks with her sleeves "I think I know why Uncle Joey trapped my Daddy here and stopped me from seeing him every time he returned to his apartment...he was wanting revenge."


End file.
